MOG

The Dead Submariner: A Concerto For Bowed Guitar and Reverberation in Three Movements. This is a companion piece to The Dying Submariner: A Concerto For Piano and Reverberation in Four Movements. dense barely persceptible motion. breathy wisps of death's grips pulling last breaths. forced into and through the being. then. gone. murky remembrances yield clarity sought for in lifetime, yet met in the fleeting seconds when all perception is one and toward thee infinite beyond is now. Electronic manipulation of sounds achieving coagula et solve within the ear and minds eye. Really quite beautiful and thought provoking/stimulating. of course, that's why we listen to music and why we share herein:) I don't know much of Liles outside of the past few months, but have been avidly following his output new and past since reading about him. He has worked with Nurse With Wound, including playing with the live ensemble version of Nurse(which includes Steven Stapleton, Diana Rogerson, Colin Potter, Matt Weldon/irr.app.). He has worked with Bass Communion and also Tony Wakeford (Sol Invictus, Tursa Records), among many others. ambient?somewhat. drone?somewhat. classical sensibilities in an electronic format utilising created, found, and discovered sounds, implementing chaos, and arriving at a uniform whole which can be dubbed music in an album form? morelike. there. that's my take. much more to learn and to listen. will transmit more as these things arrive and are ingested. there are sounds at his myspace page. there are things of interest at his homepage proper. good article at dusted magazine, the intro for which I'll reproduce here: "Miles of Liles - An interview with Andrew Liles Andrew Liles has been recording since the mid 80's. His music, which is both eclectic and diverse, is often minimalist, surrealistic, experimental and hypnotic, and attempts to transcend any obvious style. Liles' music has been described as "thoroughly chilling" with "incredible sonic depths of dark ambience." and by industrial.org as "foreboding and at times [a] truly unsettling aural examination, a Rorschact rain cloud streaming out blurred images and tangled memories…" " The Bowed Guitar and Rverb Concerto is part of a limited 2 disc set for The Dying Submariner (Piano and Reverb). In unlimited form, the piano concerto is available through "normal" retail outlets. Beta-lactam Ring Records has sound samples from The Piano Concerto here. Limited version currently available through mailorder at Beta-lactam Ring Records At least give a listen if you like.

So of course life being what it is, this afternoon I get via postal service Liles' In My Father's House are Many Mansions an album that also came out earlier this year. It is a set of remixes by the likes of M. Weldon/irr.app.(ext.), Bass Communion, Aranos, The Hafler Trio, Nurse With Wound, vidnaObama, etc. An amazing collected set of collaborations from various sources, with Liles all in it, translated through various personnel. Not themed so much as the Dying/Dead Submariner set above, but still most cohesive. an album, proper, though. ambient?at different points. drone? at times YES! good rewards for deep listening. challenging, but not overpowering. good to hear different voices showing their respect to Liles and he, in turn, showing his(he mastered the album). at times there is comfort(without getting comfortable:) in the knowledge that principles applied to art and literature do translate well in the aural realm. not that that is new, but Liles treatments are refreshing and at times cleansing, even though some abrasives may be applied.

from a review of this album at touching extremes- "By now affirmed as a uniquely talented soundscaper, for this occasion Andrew Liles called fifteen artists to the task of remixing his own music. The few lines of a review are not enough to decode the complex messages disclosed by these disfigured contemplations, as Liles' work is truly mythical in its impossibility of being pigeonholed. His overtones are bathed in engulfing frequencies, sapiently interspersed with ironic convolutions and aural descriptions of transfigured wonderlands where rabbits eat Alices spitting their pieces in kaleidoscopic whirlwinds."

Here's what a few other reviews and a label had to say about Andrew Liles in general:

The Wire '...a compendium of forgotten folklore awaiting its future.'

Side-Line 'Never our senses have been so shaken by this intelligent and out of time creation. Andrew Liles is certainly the last alchemist of experimental music.'

Operative Records Andrew Liles has been recording since the mid 80's. His music, which both eclectic and diverse is often minimalist, surrealistic, experimental and hypnotic, and attempts to transcend any noticeable style or clique. Andrew Liles has been described as "thoroughly chilling" with "incredible sonic depths of dark ambience." and by industrial.org as "foreboding and at times [a] truly unsettling aural examination, a Rorschact rain cloud streaming out blurred images and tangled memories"

so, please excuse primer-like qualities, though please do let this act as an introduction to A Liles. He makes my ears happy.